Major social media sites like Digg and StumbleUpon get most of the attention, but smaller, more targeted niche sites can provide excellent opportunities for networking with others in your niche and getting some exposure for your own work. While others are chasing after the Digg front page and 99% are getting nowhere, you could be getting hundreds and thousands of higher quality visitors over the same period of time by targeting niche social media sites.
Of course, the sites you choose to target will depend on what niche you're in, but there are probably more niche-specific sites than you realize (See our list of over 400 social media sites). Some of them have very low traffic and influence, but others are very active. Here is a look at 10 that are doing things right. Read More »

There's a lot that goes into a successful social media campaign, much more than just creating great content or asking some friends for votes. Here's a look at 10 different factors that will influence your success.
1. The Purpose
In order to run a successful social media campaign you have to have a clear understanding of what your purpose is. Yes, this sounds obvious, but many website owners and bloggers set out to gain huge amounts of traffic with social media without a definitive purpose. Unless you are producing advertising income based on traffic volume, you will not really gain anything just by getting tons of visitors (although it may make you feel good). Read More »

For those of you who have been reading Traffikd for a while you know that I often gives tips for growing a blog using methods like social media marketing and networking. Well, I just launched a new blog tonight, so I'll be getting an opportunity to put my own advice into practice and give it a test.
The site I launched is DesignM.ag, a site that targets the web design community (if you're interested in web design I'd love to have you as a subscriber). Read More »

The most common reason I hear for bloggers or online marketers not using social media to promote their work is that it takes too much time. With hundreds or thousands of social media sites out there it can seem impossible to have any sort of impact without spending several hours each day.
The truth is, social media can be a huge consumer of your time, or it can require just a small amount on a consistent basis. It's very possible to use social media sites only in small doses and still reap the benefits, you just need to have a plan for the time that you are spending and you need some discipline to stay away from distractions that seem to be everywhere. Read More »

One subject that I've never touched on in a blog post is the decision of linking your social media profiles to your blog. I'm not necessarily talking about creating a link that people can click on (although that's involved in some cases) as much as I'm talking about making it obvious for onlookers to know that your social media profile is associated with your blog. For example, my Mixx profile is vandelay, my del.icio.us profile is vandelaydesign. In both cases it's not to difficult for anyone who cares to notice that those profiles are associated with my primary blog, Vandelay Design. Read More »

If you're an avid social media user, Firefox has all kinds of add-ons that can save you time and open up new opportunities. This list includes some that are specifically related to a particular social media site and others that are more general or usable for a number of different sites. Find a few that you like and give them a shot. Read More »

This post is part of agroup writing projectorganized by Jacob Share to coordinate with theBlogging Idol competition.
Most of you reading this post are probably blogging in fairly competitive niches where there are other blogs covering the same topics as you. If you have a newer or smaller blog and you try to build up your subscriber base by simply doing the same things that other successful blogs are doing, you're unlikely to stand out. Instead, try taking another angle at the subject, find what it is that you do best and have a unique approach. Read More »

Social Media Marketing is obviously a common way for bloggers to generate some exposure for their own work. But at the same time, if the time that you spend using social media is not limited, it's possible to spend all of your time doing things that will not directly bring results to your blog.
Before I get into this post, it should be noted that I'm approaching this subject from the perspective of a blogger who is primarily using social media as a means to generate traffic and make connections with other bloggers. For many people social networking is entertainment or a leisure activity, not a business. If that's your goal with social media or blogging, I'm not suggesting that you're wasting your time with Facebook or Twitter, rather, I'm approaching it from a the perspective of a blogger who wants the benefits of social networking , but still needs productivity and time management. Read More »

Any of us who run a blog with the intention of making money know that blog monetization is usually pretty difficult. Sure, you can probably sell some ads or make a little bit of money with affiliate programs, but that's not going to generate the kind of revenue for most of us that we're after. Of course, A-listers are typically able to make a pretty substantial amount from ads, but smaller blogs will rarely be able to make the kind of money that could help them to break free from the day job.
Earning a respectable part-time income from blogging can actually be quite nice, but many are seeking to earn a full-time income. One powerful monetization method that's often overlooked on this quest is providing a service. By offering a service you can diversify your income and exponentially increase it. Read More »

It's a simple concept, but one that is often overlooked. Having success with a specific social media site, or with social media in general, will make it more likely that you'll have success again in the future.
A well-targeted social media campaign will attract subscribers as they find your post through social media. With each subscriber you gain through social media, you'll make it just a bit easier on yourself to get another vote in the future. That "extra" vote makes it more realistic for you to draw more visitors to another post, and those visitors will hopefully convert into more subscribers. And the cycle goes on.
When it comes to social media sites and voting, some of your votes will come from visitors of the social media sites themselves (for example, someone seeing your submission on the "upcoming" page at Digg), some will come from random visitors to your website, some may come from requests/shared links, and many will come from your subscribers. And obviously, the more subscribers you have, the more opportunities you have to get votes from subscribers. Read More »

About Traffikd.com

Traffikd is an internet marketing and social media blog that aims to provide readers with practical, relevant information that they can use in their own online marketing efforts. The blog is updated regularly with new, original content.